Take the Leap: Join the PVI Swim & Dive Team

by: Annabelle Bailey '27

The PVI Swim & Dive Team has had great success over the years So far this season, PVI set five NOVA Catholic meet records, one new PVI school record, and diver Allie Reback has come in first in all her meets this season. I have been a swimmer on the PVI Swim & Dive team since my freshman year. It has been such an amazing and rewarding experience. Both the swimmers and the divers have accomplished so much. The diving program at PVI is incredible, and there has been much success born from it. Unfortunately, three out of the four divers on the team are seniors graduating this year. This leaves just one diver returning next year.

One of our most successful divers, Allie Reback, says she was initially inspired to join the PVI dive team because her older sister was on it for their summer pool’s team. Allie has found her immense success through constant learning and practice Through this success, Allie has been on the state's team three times, won NOVA Catholics twice, and placed 7th at states her sophomore year. Allie is committed to Fairfield University for diving.

“I always wanted to do a sport in college, I just didn’t know which one it would be, but once I found diving in high school, I knew it was the sport for me. ” Allie’s advice to divers is to not be afraid to join the PVI dive team, even if you have no experience at all, and as long as you aren’t afraid to learn, you’ll pick it up quickly.

Another diver from the PVI Dive team, Kelsa Boodlal, joined during her junior year, but has quickly made such a big impact in such a short period of time. Kelsa joined the dive team because she used to do gymnastics, and fellow diver Allie Reback told her that it was similar to diving and suggested she try it out Kelsa shared that when she first joined the team, she was definitely nervous because it was new to her but eventually she found it really fun and rewarding.

“The longer I have been diving, the more success I have at meets. Because I am not scared to try a new dive for the first time, I have had a lot of success in just learning more and challenging myself.”

Sophomore Hayden Hill also dives for PVI. Hayden has been doing gymnastics for most of her life, and was disappointed when she realized there was no gymnastics team at PVI - her high school of choice. Fortunately, Hayden heard that diving was the sport that was most similar to and easiest for gymnasts to pick up. For Hayden, incorporating her gymnastics skills into diving was pretty easy. Her love for diving has deepened since she first started diving. "It was frustrating at first to learn the new skills but after lots of practice and learning, I finally got the hang of it."

Of course, to teach and make our divers as incredible as they are, there is Coach Joe Smolinske. Coach Joe has instructed about five years now and he says diving would be a great sport not only for anyone with gymnastics or tumbling experience, but also for someone who considers themselves “adventurous, daring, or “fearless!”

The coach and the four unbelievable divers have tremendously helped our Swim & Dive team keep winning. Unfortunately, Allie, Kelsa, and Brady are seniors, which means this season is their last for the PVI team. That leaves Hayden as the only diver for the 2025-2026 season and potentially the 2026-2027. The team and I highly encourage anyone interested to try out diving. If you’re a gymnast like Hayden and Kelsa, diving is an amazing opportunity for you to participate in a sport that will enable you to use those same skills while being part of an awesome PVI team. Even if you’re not a gymnast or a dancer, diving is an incredible chance for you to meet new people, make new friends, learn a new sport, and help to continue to steer the team to victory!

For more information about joining PVI’s Swim and Dive Team, contact Coach Joe at jsmolinske@paulvi.net.